This study seeks to identify important access barriers to health care for Latino children, based on questions answered by their parents. A cross-sectional survey of parents of 203 children, whose ethnicity included Dominican, Puerto Rican, Central American and South American, revealed that the greatest barriers to health care were language problems (26%), long waiting time at the physician’s office (15%), no medical insurance (13%), and difficulty paying medical bills (7%). Parents also cited the following barriers as factors in not bringing their children for treatment: lack of transportation, not being able to afford health care; excessive waiting time in the clinic; no health insurance; and lack of cultural understanding by staff. Some parents with little or no English skills said medical staff not speaking Spanish had led to adverse health consequences for their children, including poor medical care, misdiagnosis, and prescription of inappropriate medications. The study also reported that low family income is an important independent risk factor for suboptimal health and high utilization of health services.
